COVID-19 Relief for India

Published

Dear Faculty, Students, Staff, and Alumni,

As the global COVID crisis continues to unfold, we share the world’s concern and empathize as witnesses to the growing humanitarian crisis occurring in India. The country is being taxed by the extraordinary demand for limited critical resources as an overwhelming number of people are diagnosed with COVID-19 each day.

I know many of you are following this situation closely and wondering how you can help. The following letter from Johns Hopkins India Institute (JHII) includes details about how you can get involved and where you can donate. I hope you will consider supporting the efforts of the JHII and its partners in one or more of the ways outlined.

With hope and appreciation,

Ellen MacKenzie Signature

Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD ’79, ScM ’75
Dean
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins University

JHU India Institute

JHU RESPONDS: COVID RELIEF FOR INDIA

Dear Colleagues,

As the COVID-19 crisis worsens in India, the Johns Hopkins India Institute (JHII) is asking its community to get involved and consider donating.

Based on inputs from our many partners across India, JHII is supporting short term as well as longer-term needs. Our focus areas include Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal where JHU has longstanding collaborations and vetted partnerships. Donations are being used to procure and distribute resources such as oxygen concentrators, ventilators, PPE to Indian facilities and organizations most in need, support surveillance efforts, fund antigen and PCR testing, development of layperson and clinical education materials for COVID management, spark communication campaigns to counter vaccine hesitancy, and promote the work of longstanding and trusted partners from across the country.  

Would you please help us spread the word? Some of the things you and your constituents can do include:

  • Forwarding this email to your community
  • Following us on Twitter @JHU_India and liking/retweeting
  • For faculty and staff, learning about the JHII COVID Task Force
  • Consider making a contribution—the link to the giving site is here and some of the descriptions of the organizations we are directly supporting are on the JHII COVID Task Force page. We are updating the list regularly based on what our partners on the ground are identifying as critical needs. All funds to the Johns Hopkins India COVID-19 Emergency Fund are 100% supporting the response in India and are tax-deductible. Alternatively, you can contribute directly to the organizations listed below.

If you have any additional ideas for making a greater impact, including around making a sustained impact and strengthening health systems for the future, email JHII@jhu.edu. Lastly, we also know that many of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have families in India have been greatly affected.  We are working to set up a list of support services that can be accessed should you need them.

Gratefully,

Amita Gupta, MD, MHS '06
Co-Chair, Johns Hopkins India Institute
Professor of Medicine & International Health
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

David Peters, MD, DrPH '93, MPH '89
Co-Chair, Johns Hopkins India Institute
Edgar Berman Chair in International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

FOR DONATIONS TO PARTNERS

Each of these organizations have provided specific requests to JHII for assistance and have the capacity to accept donations directly (listed below in alphabetical order).

  1. Mission Vayu: The Pune Platform for COVID Response (PPCR) is a public-private partnership working with JHU collecting funds for 250 BiPAPs and 4,000 oxygen concentrators for the hotspots in Maharashtra. (Accepts donations from both U.S. and India)
  2. YRG Care (Chennai and Multiple other locations across India): Currently, JHU collaborates with YRG’s 16 Integrated Care Centers (ICCs). YRG Care will leverage this network of centers and ongoing projects to address COVID-19 needs in Southern and Western India, including ramping up high-quality point-of-care antigen testing, providing non-medical support to healthcare workers and below poverty level communities, and providing care support to those with COVID. (Accepts donations from both U.S. and India)
  3. Bal Umang Drishya Sanstha (BUDS) (Delhi, West Bengal): BUDS, a JHU partner, will channel funds towards COVID Relief Health Camps, primary care services, distribution of Ready to Use Food Supplements for malnourished children, and address vaccine hesitation and access. (Accepts donations from both U.S. and India)
  4. Give India: Provide oxygen to help India breathe again: This fundraising platform is supporting critical COVID patients, charitable hospitals and COVID Care Centres. (Accepts donations from both US and India)
  5. JHPIEGO: Contributions to JHPIEGO’s COVID-19 Response Fund for India will prepare health workers with critical skills, supplies an emotional support during this new phase of the pandemic. (Accepts donations from U.S. only)
  6. India Philanthropy Alliance: Several of JHII’s Advisory Board Members have organized 14 key partners that work in India for direct response to COVID. These include Pratham, WISH, Project ECHO, AIF. (Accepts donations from both U.S. and India)
  7. KEM Hospital (Pune, India): JHU partners with King Edward Memorial Hospital, a 550-bed NGO tertiary care facility in Pune, on clinical research. They are channeling funds to ICU beds, monitors for condition and vital signs, ventilators, infusion pumps, and defibrillators. (Accepts donations from India only)
  8. Child In Need Institute (Kolkata, West Bengal): CINI, a JHU partner, will channel funds towards COVID-19 testing, providing families with non-medical resources such as masks, hygiene products, and food assistance, COVID-19 awareness and prevention via public health messaging, and staffing COVID Assistance Centers. (Accepts donations from India only)